Germany links 'still strong after Brexit'

The German-British business community is upbeat about its activities in the UK, according to a new survey, despite concerns about Britain 's overall economic prospects.

The survey - carried out by the German-British Chamber of Industry and Commerce - says that its members are worried about the ongoing shortages of supplies and skills which are the result of the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit.

The main note of optimism in the survey is that far fewer firms with an Anglo-German relationship are now thinking of pulling out of the UK in the wake of Brexit.

Today, only one third of companies are still threatening to relocate activities as a result of Brexit - last autumn a massive 70 per cent said they were intending to go down this route.

In addition, more than 50 per cent of companies surveyed said they were 'positive ' or 'very positive ' about their own current and expected future performance in the UK.

These sentiments translate into investment and future employment, with a third planning to increase capital expenditure and half expecting to grow their workforce.

However, the overall development of the UK economy is viewed more cautiously, as only 27 per cent expect it to perform better or significantly better over the coming nine months.

This assessment is to some extent due to the Coronavirus pandemic, as 52 per cent of companies think that a full recovery from it is still at least nine months off.

In terms of the biggest challenges facing businesses, logistical problems, shortage of skills and supplies have significantly moved up the agenda.

Trade barriers, customs formalities and travel restrictions have moved from being the top two issues for the past 18 months to ranks three and five, respectively. Yet a significant number of companies (34 per cent) say they are battling with customs red tape.

With regard to other concerns, businesses were also surveyed about this month 's COP26 climate change meeting in Glasgow, and it was found that the climate change agenda remains important for a majority of companies but other ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues feature less prominently in their thoughts.

Dr Ulrich Hoppe (pictured), director general of the German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce, said: "The survey results suggest that, despite the German-British business community being upbeat about their own operations, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit continue to somewhat weigh on the UK 's overall economic performance. ”